Troubleshooting Exchanges

Overview

When an exchange does not process as expected, there are several common causes to investigate. This article walks through the most frequent scenarios where exchanges fail or variants do not appear correctly, and explains how to diagnose and resolve each issue.

Exchange Not Offered at All

If a customer doesn’t see an exchange option, check the following in Settings > Returns > Exchanges:

• Exchanges Offered is on, and the order is still within the Exchange Window.
• If the customer is returning an item from an exchange order, Allow Exchange of Exchange must be on. Refunds are never offered on exchange orders. Store credit is offered only when Offer Credit for Exchange of Exchange is also on. On a store with Claim Lineage, neither toggle is used and the exchange order follows the same rules as any other order, so check your windows and eligibility automations instead.

Variants Not Showing in the Exchange Flow

If a customer reports that expected product variants are not appearing during the exchange flow, the following checks should help identify the cause.

No Product Exchange Rule Matches the Returned Item

If no Product Exchange rule matches the item being returned, the customer can only exchange for another variant of the same product. If several rules match, only the highest-priority rule applies, so a broader rule with a higher priority can hide the one you expect.

To verify:

1. Go to Settings > Returns and scroll to the Product Exchange section.
2. Check each rule’s conditions, such as Product Group, against the item the customer is returning.
3. Check the rule order to see which matching rule has the highest priority.

Product Not in the Product Group

If you are using Advanced Exchanges, the product offered for exchange must be in one of the rule’s product groups or carry one of its product tags. If a product has been updated in a way that removed it from the group, it will not appear as an available exchange option.

To verify and resolve:

1. Navigate to Settings > Product Groups and locate the relevant group.
2. Click the eye icon to view the products in the group, and confirm the product appears.
3. If the product is missing, click the refresh icon on the group’s row, or click Sync Products From Shopify at the top of the page to refresh your whole catalog. A full sync can take up to 15 minutes.

This is especially useful when product tags or other group criteria have been recently modified.

Product Is Not Active in Shopify

For any exchange type, the product being offered must be in an active, published state in Shopify. If a product has been moved to draft, unlisted, or deleted, Corso will not be able to retrieve it and it will not appear in the exchange flow.

To verify:

• Confirm the product is published and active in Shopify.
• Confirm the product has not been archived or set to a draft state.

Variant Has Stock in Shopify but Is Missing in Corso

Corso keeps products in sync with Shopify’s product updates. Occasionally an update is missed, so a variant with stock in Shopify doesn’t appear in Corso. Make a small edit to the product in Shopify and save it, then change it back and save again. Wait a few minutes and check the exchange options again.

Variant Is Below the Inventory Threshold

Variants with fewer units in stock than your Minimum Inventory Available to Customer setting are not offered. A product with no remaining variants is hidden entirely. This threshold is set in Settings > Returns > Exchanges, and a Product Exchange rule can override it. Set it to 0 to skip the stock check (out-of-stock variants are then offered). A rule value of 0 uses the Returns setting.

If you use the Configure Out Of Stock automation with Allowed Fulfillment Locations, only inventory at those locations counts.

If a customer was able to select a variant at the time of submitting their claim but stock was depleted before the claim was finalized, the exchange may fail at finalization.

Exchange Fails at Finalization

If an exchange claim reaches finalization but cannot be processed, the following error states may appear in the Corso admin.

Out of Stock at Finalization

A product may have been in stock when the customer submitted their claim but sold out by the time the claim is being finalized. If you use the Configure Out Of Stock automation with Fail on Out of Stock Scenarios on, the line item shows the error Product variant is out of stock, cannot finalize claim.

Resolution: Check current inventory for the requested variant. You may need to manually resolve the claim by offering an alternative variant or resolution method.

If the claim is an exchange or warranty replacement and the error says Failed to reserve inventory, the item is out of stock and your Inventory Behavior is Decrement Inventory (Obey Policies). To finalize anyway, use a Configure Out Of Stock automation set to Do Not Decrement Inventory or Decrement Inventory (Ignore Policies).

Product Deleted or Recreated in Shopify

A common cause of finalization failures is a product being deleted and recreated in Shopify. When this happens, the new product receives a new product ID, which no longer matches what Corso has on record for the original order.

To verify:

1. Identify the product associated with the failing exchange claim.
2. Search for the product in Shopify by SKU and product name.
3. Compare the product ID in the Shopify URL against what is recorded in Corso.
4. If the IDs do not match, the product has likely been recreated and the reference is broken.

This is one of the most important checks when an exchange shows a generic processing error.

Product Is in Draft or Unlisted

If a product was valid at the time of claim submission but has since been moved to draft or unlisted, the exchange will fail at finalization because the product is no longer considered a valid active product in Shopify.

Resolution: Re-publish the product in Shopify, or manually resolve the claim using an alternative product.

Summary Checklist

Use the following checklist when troubleshooting a failing or incomplete exchange:

• Is the product active and published in Shopify?
• Does a Product Exchange rule match the returned item, and is it the highest-priority match?
• Is the product included in the rule’s product groups or tags (if using Advanced Exchanges)?
• Does the variant have at least the minimum inventory you require?
• Does the product ID in Shopify match what Corso has on record?
• Has the product been deleted, recreated, drafted, or unlisted recently?
• Has a product group refresh or Sync Products From Shopify been run to refresh product data?